PUNTA GORDA, FL -
A Punta Gorda man faces arson charges in connection with two mobile home fires in November.
Phillip Mullin, 46, was booked into the Charlotte County Jail on Tuesday on arson and burglary charges.

Detectives say he intentionally set two mobile homes on fire at the Peace River Fish Camp, off US17 near the DeSoto County line, on Nov. 12. The fires reportedly occurred within minutes of each other.

Fern Haverstock's winter getaway was one of the homes destroyed by fire.

She says she's glad a suspect has been arrested.

"I hope he spends a lot of time behind bars. Who knows, he might do it again," said Haverstock.

We spoke with Mullin a day before Haverstock's home was set on fire.

Then, he blamed a nearby fire on a previous landlord.

"I'm glad deep in my heart that they got him, but in the back of my mind I hope he's the one who did it," said Haverstock.

The fire marshal says Mullin lit the houses on fire by ripping off the skirting, crawling underneath, and using his lighter to ignite the insulation.

Investigators concluded that Mullin used his cigarette lighter to ignite the insulation beneath the mobile homes, according to an arrest report.

Witnesses reported seeing Mullin near the crime scenes wearing a soiled denim jacket and wiping dirt off his knees.

Detectives later recovered the jacket and found a cigarette lighter inside.